Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 19 July 1998
Aircraft Type: Lockheed L-1011-385-1-14 TriStar 100
Owner/operator: Caledonian Airways
Registration Number: G-BBAF
Location: Kos Island International Airport (KGS/LGKO) – ÿ Greece
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Substantial
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 370
Component Affected: Stick ShakerStick Shaker
Investigating Agency: AAIBAAIB
Category: Accident
A charter flight from London Gatwick experienced a near-miss incident during approach to Kos. The aircraft’s Stick Shaker malfunctioned, causing a brief activation at critical stages of the approach. The crew, alerted by ATC, noticed the issue and realized the aircraft was approaching too high. Rapid altitude loss, culminating in a hard landing, resulted in significant structural damage. The incident was resolved safely with no injuries.A charter flight from London Gatwick experienced a near-miss incident during approach to Kos. The aircraft’s Stick Shaker malfunctioned, causing a brief activation at critical stages of the approach. The crew, alerted by ATC, noticed the issue and realized the aircraft was approaching too high. Rapid altitude loss, culminating in a hard landing, resulted in significant structural damage. The incident was resolved safely with no injuries.

Description

The operated a charter flight from London Gatwick. The crew had been called up from standby quite near to the departure. The aircraft was suffering from an issue with the Stick Shaker in which it would activate on the later stages of approach when the aircraft was above the stall speed. The crew had not been advised. After a normal flight to Kos the crew would contact ATC. They were advised it was still dark on the ground as the sunrise would be at 03:15. The early stages of the approach to Kos had been normal and the crew had not noticed any abnormalities. During the final stages the stick shaker would go off briefly 4 times. The crew realized the aircraft was a little high. During these final stages the flight engineer would notice the radio altitude dropping rapidly from 700ft to 300ft and then back up. During the last 400ft of approach the aircraft was 3 Degrees below the Glideslope. The crew would notice the aircraft losing altitude rapidly in the last few seconds before touchdown. The aircraft would land hard and the tail would impact the runway 310ft from the beginning. The aircraft suffered substantial damage to the structure near the rear bulkhead. The aircraft would taxi safely and nobody was injured. Probable Cause: The distraction of the flight engineer due to fluctuating altitude and fatigue lead to the lack of proper call outs to Alert the pilot flying of the current altitude.

Source of Information

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f80840f0b6134600070b/dft_avsafety_pdf_501051.pdf, https://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-l10-1093.htm, https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10461291https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f80840f0b6134600070b/dft_avsafety_pdf_501051.pdf, https://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-l10-1093.htm, https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10461291

Primary Cause

Fluctuating altitude and fatigue among the flight engineer, leading to inadequate callouts to alert the pilot.Fluctuating altitude and fatigue among the flight engineer, leading to inadequate callouts to alert the pilot.

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